Monitoring Sustainable Development Goals: From Now to 2030

Abstract

The United Nations last September 2015 agreed on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that will orient the policy actions for the next 15 years. The 17 goals and the related 169 targets have to be monitored and evaluated. The National Statistical Institutes, following a decision of the UN Statistical Commission, have to coordinate the process of production of the statistical data for elaboration of indicators that will be used for monitoring. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a global, regional, and national set of indicators for monitoring the achievements of the goals and targets by countries.

The aim of this chapter is to present a practice of anticipation. Monitoring SDGs is a practice, where evaluating the achievement of goals (results) in a certain period of time implies stimulate actions for an aptitude to forward looking. In this context are used both forecasts and foresights which should be translated into decisions and actions as Poli defined (Poli 2017).

Behavior, both individual and institutional, is generated by fixed goals (SDGs) for facing complex reality characterized by economic, social, environmental, and institutional aspects. In doing this, it would be possible to improve resilience and reducing vulnerabilities of individuals and societies.

Analyzing and forecasting the effects derived from climate changes or the economic instability, for example, are practices of anticipation. This is done for stimulate decisions and actions for improving resiliencies and developing a forward-looking attitude and the use of the former’s results for action.

Therefore, the chapter will illustrate the general framework for monitoring SDGs and will present the experience of ISTAT, the Italian Statistical Institute, and the personal research experience for evaluating the SDGs goals and targets, trying to develop a coherent set of measures. It is a challenging action not only for developing countries but also for advanced countries. A data revolution is underway, and the process will run for the next 15 years, and developing data is also crucial for the practices of anticipation. In Italy, the measuring of sustainability has been approached in the context of the project BES (Benessere equo e sostenibile), in line with the United Nations declaration that there is sustainable development when the well-being of people is pursued. Moreover, ISTAT, was a member country inside the Inter-agency Expert Group-SDGs constituted by the UN Statistical Commission, contributed actively for the selection of relevant indicators for monitoring the achievement of SDGs. ISTAT is also member of the Task Force UNECE for developing Sustainable Development measures and of the EUROSTAT Working Group on Sustainable Development and Europe 2020 indicators. All these national experiences allow developing a coherent framework for Sustainable Development monitoring in which concepts, methods, and measures find clarification.

The ideas expressed in this chapter are of the author and may not reflect the position of ISTAT

Appendix 1 Trends for Italy: Selection of Indicators

Goal 1 – Poverty

See Graphs 1, 2, and 3.

Graph 1

Proportion of population living below the national relative poverty line, relative poverty and at risk of poverty. Years 2005–2015 (per 100 individuals with the same characteristics) (Source: Istat, Consumi delle famiglie, Indagine sulle spese delle famiglie, Indagine Eu-Silc)

Graph 2

Proportion of total government spending on essential services (education, health and social protection), years 1995–2014 (Source: Istat, Conti economici nazionali)

Graph 3

Government spending on different social protection programs, years 2007–2013 (percentages) (Source: Conti della protezione sociale)

Goal 2 – Nutrition and Agriculture

See Graphs 4, 5, and 6.

Graph 4

Overweight or obesity, years 2005–2015 (Standardized percentage of people aged 18 years and over who are overweight or obese) (Source: Istat, Indagine Aspetti della vita quotidiana)

Graph 5

Food styles of people above 3 years (percentages), years 2005–2015 (per 100 persons of 3 years and over with the same characteristics) (Source: Istat, Indagine multiscopo sulle famiglie-Aspetti della vita quotidiana-Parte generale)

Graph 6

Percentage of land under organic farming, years 2010 and 2013 (percentages) (Source: Istat, Indagine sulla struttura e produzioni delle aziende agricole)

Goal 3 – Health

See Graphs 7, 8, 9, and 10.

Graph 7

Life expectancy at birth, by sex – years 2004–2015 (average number of years) (Source: Istat, Tavole di mortalità della popolazione italiana)

Graph 8

Healthy life expectancy at birth, by sex – years 2009–2015 (average number of years) (Source: Istat, Tavole di mortalità della popolazione italiana e Indagine Aspetti della vita quotidiana)

Graph 9

Mortality rate attributed to chronic diseases (per 10,000 inhabitants) – Years 2006–2013 (Source: Istat, Database Health for All)

Graph 10

Age standardized death rate due to road traffic injuries, years 2004–2015 (per 100,000 inhabitants) (Source: Istat, Rilevazione degli incidenti stradali con lesione a persone)

Goal 4 – Education and Training

See Graphs 11, 12, 13, and 14.

Graph 11

People with at least upper secondary education, years 2004–2015 (percentage of people aged 25–64 years having completed at least upper secondary education) (Source: Istat, Rilevazione sulle Forze di lavoro)

Graph 12

Participation in long-life learning: years 2004–2015 (percentage) (Source: Istat, Rilevazione sulle Forze di lavoro)

Graph 13

People with tertiary education, years 2004–2015 (percentage of people aged 30–34 years having completed tertiary education) (Source: Istat, Rilevazione sulle Forze di lavoro)

Graph 14

Early leavers from education and training, years 2004–2015 (percentage of people aged 18–24 years who have achieved only lower secondary and are not included in a training program) (Source: Istat, Rilevazione sulle Forze di lavoro)

Goal 5 – Women

See Graphs 15, 16, 17, and 18.

Graph 15

Proportion of women aged 16–70 subjected to physical or sexual violence by a partner or previous partner in the previous 12 months, years 2006 and 2014 (percentages) (Source: Istat, Multiscopo sulle famiglie: sicurezza delle donne)

Graph 16

Women and political representation in Parliament, years 2008 and 2014 (percentage) (Source: Ministero degli Interni (2008), Elaborazioni Istat su dati della Camera dei Deputati e del Senato della Repubblica)

Graph 17

Proportion of time spent on unpaid domestic and care work by sex, years 2002–2003, 2008–2009, 2013–2014 (Source: Istat, Multiscopo sulle famiglie: uso del tempo)

Graph 18

Women in decision-making bodies (a), years 2013–2016 (percentage) ((a) Autorità della privacy, Agcom, Autorità della concorrenza e del mercato, Corte Costituzionale, Consiglio Superiore Magistratura, Ambasciatori, Consob (Source: Varie, vedi (a)) )

Goal 6 – Water

See Graphs 19, 20, and 21.

Graph 19

Irregularities in water supply, years 2005/07–2013/15 (percentage of households who report irregularities in water supply on total number of households – three-year moving average) (Source: Istat, Indagine multiscopo: Aspetti della vita quotidiana)

Graph 20

Organic biodegradable loads collected in urban wastewater treatment plants with secondary or advanced treatment on the total civil organic loads (percentages), years 2005, 2008, and 2012 (Source: Istat, Censimento delle acque per uso civile)

Graph 21

Population served by urban waste water treatment plants, years 2000–2011 (percentages) (Source: Istat, Dati ambientali nelle città)

Goal 7 – Energy

See Graphs 22, 23, 24, and 25.

Graph 22

Frequency of long-lasting electric power interruptions (average number per user), years 2004–2015 (Source: Istat, Elaborazione su dati Autorità per l’energia elettrica e il gas)

Graph 23

Energy intensity of the economy, years 1995–2014 (kilogram of oil equivalent (kgoe) per 1.000 euro) (Source: Eurostat)

Graph 24

Percentage of household served by methane, years 2005/2007–2013/2015 (three-year moving average) (Source: Istat, Indagine multiscopo: Aspetti della vita quotidiana)

Graph 25

Electricity generated from renewable sources, years 2004–2015 (percentage of gross electricity consumption) (Source: Terna Rete Italia Spa)

Goal 8 – Growth, Full Employment and Decent Work for all

See Graphs 26, 27, 28, and 29.

Graph 26

Annual growth rate of real GDP per capita, years 1996–2015 (percentage) (Source: Istat, Conti economici regionali)

Graph 27

Proportion of youth (aged 15–24 years) not in education, employment or training, years 2004–2015 (Source: Istat, Rilevazione sulle forze di lavoro)

Graph 28

Gender pay gap, years 2006–2014 (Source: Eurostat)

Graph 29

Unemployment rate, by sex, years 1995–2015 (percentage) (Source: Istat, Rilevazione sulle forze di lavoro)

Goal 9 – Resilient Infrastructure, Industrialization and Innovation

See Graphs 30, 31, and 32.

Graph 30

Manufacturing value added as a proportion of GDP, years 1995–2015 (percentage) (Source: Istat, Conti economici regionali)

Graph 31

CO2 emission per unit of value added, years 1995–2014 (Tons/millions of euro) (Source: Istat, Conti di tipo NAMEA (matrice di conti economici integrata con conti ambientali))

Graph 32

R&D intensity, years 2004–2014 (percentage) (Source: Istat, Rilevazione statistica sulla ricerca e sviluppo nelle imprese, Rilevazione statistica sulla ricerca e sviluppo nelle istituzioni private non profit, Rilevazione statistica sulla ricerca e sviluppo nelle istituzioni pubbliche, Elaborazione per la stima delle attività di ricerca e sviluppo nelle università (in termini di spesa e personale))

Goal 10 – Inequalities

See Graphs 33, 34, and 35.

Graph 33

Composite index of service accessibility: Percentage of households who find very difficult to reach three or more basic services (pharmacy, emergency room, post office, police, carabinieri, municipal offices, crèches, nursery, primary and secondary school, market and supermarket) on total number of households (Source: Istat, Indagine Aspetti della vita quotidiana)

Graph 34

Foreign citizens, years 2001–2016 (residential population at 1° January) (Source: Istat, Rilevazione della popolazione residente comunale straniera, Ricostruzione della popolazione residente nei comuni)

Graph 35

Entrants in the year of non-EU citizens by causes of migration, years 2007–2015 (Source: Istat, Permessi di soggiorno dei cittadini stranieri)

The disposable income inequality index , defined in terms of quintiles, that is the ratio between the richest 20% and poorest 20%, depicts the unequal distribution of income between the richest and the poorest. For Italy, in the considered decade, the index decreased until 2008, and then it began to grow until the most recent years, exceeding the value achieved at the beginning of the period, signifying a deterioration of the distributive equity.

In terms of inequalities between Italy, the Italian regions of Campania and Sicily show the most pronounced income inequality, which has increased significantly from 2011 and, in Campania, has even achieved 10 in 2013. Among the regions with a low index there are Valle d’Aosta, Trento and Friuli Venezia Giulia.

Goal 11 – Cities and Human Settlements

See Graphs 36, 37, 38, and 39.

Graph 36

Estimated domestic land consumption per capita years 50s, 1989, 1996, 1998, 2006, 2008 and 2013 (Square meters/inhabitant) (Source: ISPRA)

Graph 37

Shared environmental planning, years 2011 and 2012 (Source: Istat, Dati ambientali nelle città)

Graph 38

Endowment of cultural heritage items (values per 100 km²) – Years 2012, 2013, 2016 (Source: Istat, Elaborazioni su dati Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali, carta del rischio. Elaborazione su dati Istituto Superiore per la Conservazione ed. il Restauro – Sistema Vincoli in rete)

Graph 39

Current expenditure of Municipalities for the management of cultural heritage, Years 2001 e 2004–2014 (euro) (Source: Istat, Bilanci consuntivi delle amministrazioni comunali)

When considering the trend of the indicator representing the Place-Km of public transport networks, defined as the number of train/vehicle km in the year (all public transport vehicles) multiplied by the average capacity of the vehicles (fleet) per inhabitant, in the overall set of the Italian regional capital cities the indicator grew until 2009 and then it decreased. In 2004, the regional capital cities that offer more places-km are Milan (Lombardia), Venice (Veneto) and Rome (Lazio). On the other hand, the regional capital cities that offer less public transport services are Aosta (Valle d’Aosta), Potenza (Basilicata) and Catanzaro (Calabria).

With regards to urban green areas , defined as square meters of urban parks and gardens per inhabitants, in general Italian cities have maintained or decreased the urban green areas per inhabitants (changes can also be caused by changes in population) with the exception of Catanzaro, Bolzano, Venice and Palermo, which have increased slightly the public green area per inhabitants. The Italian cities with the higher value of the indicator are Trento and Potenza, with values that are significantly higher than the rest of the regional capital cities; the cities that have less public green areas per inhabitant are Genova, L’Aquila and Bari.

The exposure to particulate matter in the regional capital cities is measured by the indicator that calculates the number of days during which the level of PM10 exceeds the limit value. It results that in 2004 all the cities (for which you have data) exceeded the limits and the cities with the highest number of days during which the level of PM10 exceeds the limit value were Florence, Turin and Ancona, while those with the lowest numbers were Trieste, Potenza and Genoa. In 2014 all the cities of regional capital have exceeded the limit but the number of days during which the level of PM10 exceeds the limit value were much lower than the initial year, except for Bolzano, that along with Campobasso and Trento, is the city with the best quality of urban air as measured by this indicator, the worst are Turin, Milan and Venice. The cities that have constantly, in the considered period, days in which the level of PM10 exceeds the threshold are Catanzaro, Potenza and L’Aquila.

If we look at the collection of municipal waste (Kg/inhabitants) in the considered period, we can notice that the quantity per capita grows until the 2006, then it decreases and in the 2012 it returns to the level registered 12 years before. In 2012 the cities that collect more waste per capita are Perugia and Rome, while those with the lowest values are Potenza and Campobasso.

Goal 12 – Production and Consumption

See Graphs 40, 41, and 42.

Graph 40

Domestic material consumption per capita, years 1995–2014 (Source: Istat, Conti dei flussi di materia)

Graph 41

Domestic material consumption per GDP, years 1995–2014 (ton/thousands of euro) (Source: Istat, Conti dei flussi di materia)

Graph 42

Separate collection of municipal waste (percentages) – Years 2004–2014 (Source: ISPRA)

Goal 13 – Climate Change

See Graphs 43, 44, 45, and 46.

Graph 43

Output emission intensity (tones of CO2 equivalent/million euro) (Source: Istat, Conto satellite NAMEA)

Graph 44

Carbon dioxide emissions and other greenhouse gases (Tones of CO2 equivalent per capita) – Years 1990–2014 (Source: Istat, Conti di tipo NAMEA (matrice di conti economici integrata con conti ambientali))

Graph 45

Annual average precipitation, years 2001–2010 (Mio m3) (Source: Istat, Rilevazione dati meteoclimatici ed. idrologici)

Graph 46

Average daily maximum and minimum temperatures, years 2013–2015 (Celsius degrees) (Source: Istat, Rilevazione dati meteoclimatici ed. idrologici)

Goal 14 – Oceans and Marine Resources

See Graphs 47, 48, and 49.

Graph 47

Marine protected areas, years 2003, 2010, 2013 (square kilometers) (Source: Ministero dell’ambiente e della tutela del territorio e del mare)

Graph 48

Marine coastal waters, years 2004–2009 (percentage of bathing marine coastal waters) (Source: elaborazione Istat su dati del Ministero della Salute)

Graph 49

Value of production for fishery and aquaculture (millions of euro). Years 1995–2014 (Source: Istat, Conti economici nazionali)

Goal 15 – Terrestrial Ecosystems, Forests, Land Degradation and Biodiversity Loss

See Graphs 50 and 51.

Graph 50

Forest area as a proportion of total land area, years 1985, 1990, 2000, 2005, 2010 e 2013 (Source: ISPRA)

Graph 51

Areas of special naturalistic interest belonging to the network Natura 2000, years 2012–2015 (percentage of areas of special naturalistic interest of total surface) (Source: Istat, Elaborazione su dati Ministero dell’ambiente e della tutela del territorio e del mare)

Goal 16 – Peace, Justice and Institutions

See Graphs 52, 53, 54, and 55.

Graph 52

Number of victims of intentional homicide per 100.000 inhabitants, years 2004–2015 (Source: Istat, Ministero dell’Interno, dati SDI)

Graph 53

Unsentenced detainees as proportion of overall prison population, years 2010–2015 (Source: Ministero della Giustizia Caratteristiche socio-lavorative, giuridiche e demografiche della popolazione detenuta)

Graph 54

Proportion of people that feel safe walking alone, years 2002, 2009, 2016 (individuals of 14 years and more that feel safe walking alone in the dark around the area they live – percentage) (Source: Istat, Indagine sulla Sicurezza dei cittadini)

Graph 55

Trust in various institutions (in the Parliament, judicial system, political parties, local institutions, other types of institutions), years 2011–2016 (average score of trust) (Source: Istat, Indagine Aspetti della vita quotidiana)

Goal 17 – Means of Implementation and International Governance

See Graphs 56, 57, 58, and 59.

Graph 56

Proportion of domestic budget funded by domestic taxes, years 1995–2015(percentage) (Source: Istat, Conti economici nazionali)

Graph 57

Net official development assistance as a proportion of GNI, years 2005–2015 (Source: OECD)

Graph 58

Official Bilateral Commitments by sector, years 1990–2014 (US Dollar, Millions, 2014) (Source: OECD)

Graph 59

Proportion of individuals using the Internet, years 2005–2015 (individuals of 16–74 years who have used the Internet at least once per week in the 3 months before the interview–percentage) (Source: Istat, Community survey on ICT usage in households and by individuals )